Ace-to-Five
by RenaRoo
Summary: She's working nine-to-five. Her night life is off the books. Terry makes her his business again with surprising results. [based partially in the Batman Beyond 2.0 continuity]


red-dye-number-five prompted: Alright, I don't know if you'll still be open to prompts once you return, but I did promise you some Terry McGinnis therefore: I would like something in which Terry and Melanie Walker are a couple.

I am just a terrible person and you have waited hella long on this, and then I give you this which isn't the greatest thing I've ever wrote. Gomennasi, senpai. But you and I both love this ship, and I wanted it to be as canonically plausible as possible, so I played with the canon of the point up to where I read in the current comics. And played from there.

Hope you still like it!

Batman Beyond and related properties © DC Comics  
story © RenaRoo

 **Ace-to-Five**

His rush to get to the dorms before his nightly rendezvous at Grayson's is all but diminished when he glances through the diner window as he runs by. He feels his heart leap for joy unexpectedly and that, more than anything, makes him stop dead in his tracks to the confusion of the crowds of Neo-Gothamites walking the same street.

They continue on their way with side glances to him, but Terry doesn't mind because he's staring at the diner intently.

Melanie tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear as she leans forward to collect her tip on the table. The nose ring is new, Terry thinks he likes it. It's the first time she's worked at the same time Terry's been running past the diner all week.

And it's about then that Terry realizes he's been looking for her all week.

All but forgetting training and responsibilities and time crunches for a moment, Terry enters the diner and takes a seat where Melanie had just finished cleaning up.

When she comes over and looks at him expectantly, he smiles genuinely and motions toward the other booth. "You look like you could use a break," he says.

"And just _what_ makes you think I want to be spending it with _you,_ McGinnis?" she asks in that soft voice of hers as she smirks knowingly and throws her towel at his face. Terry rejects all impulse to catch it and just smiles as Melanie sits down.

"You've not been working the evening shift all week," Terry says as he finally pulls the cloth from his face.

"What, you got a copy of my schedule?" she asks in return, eyebrow quirked. "And here I thought you didn't care."

"I take this street a lot," he explains with a shrug. He then looks as somberly as he can at her. "And I always care."

Melanie blinks slowly at him before looking down to her sleeve collars. She straightens them intently, apparently trying to hide the dusting of a blush on her cheeks. "That was really lame, Terry," she says.

"I'm kind of a lame guy," he admits. "And… I've been a jerk a lot in class. I know you've got a lot of stuff going on but me being an ass isn't helping. And I'd like to help."

"I'm not some damsel that needs help," she says defiantly, her icy blue eyes glaring holes into him. But they seem to lose their fire as he just stares sincerely back. She tightens her frown. "But… I was still hoping we could be friends. That we could… talk. Catch up." Melanie pauses. "That'd mean a lot."

Terry swallows. "Yeah. I'd like that, too."

Melanie smirks. "Then let's talk."

* * *

 _"There's a hijacking in progress on the corner of the Third and West. You're fifty-five seconds if you turn around."_

Batman grins as he maneuvers just that way. "Oracle, you wouldn't happen to be using security cameras again after Commissioner Gordon got onto you for last time, would you?"

 _"Sixty seconds considering how much more you're concentrating on_ sass _than on driving."_

He beats her second prediction by two seconds, but the would-be hijackers are already unconscious on the pavement and the owner of the vehicle dialing on her cellular. Batman narrows his eyes.

"Where's my eyes in the sky telling me what just happened?" he asks over the comm.

 _"Uh, well, it seemed like something you'd want to observe for yourself. But check the alley."_

Batman grunts in response but ejects quickly from the Batmobile, soaring over the alley as directed. It doesn't take long to see the vigilante racing across the pavement considering half of her costume is a glowing white.

"You've got to be kidding me," Batman huffs before quickly cutting her off, landing just in front of her with his arms crossed. "You promised me you were out of this game, Miss Walker."

Ten skids to a halt, eyes wide for just a moment before narrow. She squares herself to him and steps up, poking his chest. "And just _what_ was I doing wrong?"

"Nothing," Batman growls. "Yet. But you don't have the best track record. And considering your brother is now out of jail -"

"And at home, like his parole demands," Ten hisses. "Want to go check? You going to escort me?" She crosses her arms. "Or is this just another thing you don't follow through on? Like _promises?"_

He ignores the tinge on the inside. Buries it a bit deeper. "I'm warning you, Ten. I don't like seeing you on the streets. Not in that uniform. Not with what it _means to you."_

"You don't know a damn about what this means to me!" she roars. "What I'm _making_ it mean. I deserve to make amends with my past. My family. My choices. My _costume._ They're a part of that. I'm _redeeming_ myself." She scoffs before brushing past him. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Mr. Good Guy? You don't have any regrets."

Batman closes his eyes, tries again to desperately press down anything but what little professionalism he's maintained so far. He then turns and watches her.

"You're wrong. I do," he says. "And just so the air's clear… The McGinnis kid got his note. You should ask _him_ why he didn't read what it said."

He takes off before she turns around. But he can feel her eyes. Among other things.

* * *

The cold shoulder Terry and Melanie give each other over the course of the week practically collects ice. They can barely stand to look in each other's direction.

At least, that's the case until Melanie catches Terry exiting the class and shoves him into the lesser used hallway. He goes along with it, leering at her suspiciously.

"What's your problem?" he asks in a huff.

"I sent you a letter," she snaps. "When I was arrested. The second time. What did you do to it?"

He takes a breath and looks off. "I threw it away."

"You didn't read it," she says, not asks. Something about the note, something said must have been her heart and soul on paper. It's why Terry _didn't_ read it. Couldn't.

"I was angry with you," Terry explains, looking back at her. "I thought… I thought it was different. That you weren't doing things just for your parents' satisfaction. And then Batman shows up at my window and says he got you _again._ What was I supposed to do?"

"Besides read my note?" she shoots back. Her eyes are still so sharp. "Try to get your facts straight? realize I wasn't doing anything for anyone."

Terry narrows his eyes. "That's not what Batman said. He said you were in trouble because you couldn't let your family go."

Melanie recoils, standing taller as she steps away from Terry. "If you have a problem with that, you're just as bad as Batman, Terry. And your'e definitely not the person I thought you were." She turns, hugging her arm. "Of course I chose my family, Terry. I thought they were in trouble. I thought I was going to lose them." Her eyes narrow as she gazes off into space. "But I learned, pretty fast, that the family I thought we were was already lost. That I didn't have any family. Not just because of blood. Not anymore."

Silence hangs between them for a moment.

Terry moves forward. "Who's your family now, Melanie? I know your parents are locked up…"

"My brother. Jack." She turns to look Terry in the eyes, a sad smile on her lips. "I bailed him after our father left him to rot. He's… been surprisingly good at not being a felon. I think his last stint made him think twice about going back. He barely complains about washing dishes at the diner."

"So all this change," Terry continues, "it's for your new family? The two of you? That's good."

She grunts and shakes her head. "You're so dense sometimes. No. I'm not making all these changes in my life for me and Jack. Though that helps, to have someone love you and support you. I'm making these changes, though, for _me._ Because I'm defining what Melanie Walker can do."

Suddenly, Terry reaches out, takes Melanie's hand. He's honestly surprised when she doesn't pull back. He smiles at her. "I… think that's a great thing, Mel. For you. I'm glad to hear it."

"It's not easy," she laughs, still a hint of sadness to her features. "But… it'd probably help to have more people on my team. Up for the job?"

"Yeah, I am," Terry says. The moment catches up with him and he gently lets go of Melanie's hand. He looks to his shoes. "What are friends for?"

"Oh," Melanie whispers. "The… reason for the note… and the way you've been acting… I'm sorry. I don't want to intrude on your relationship."

Terry laughs, dry and a little to hard. "We… ah… Dana and I aren't together anymore. It… it's on me this time. I mean, yeah. That's part of why I didn't read the note. But now… now I'm just confused. That's the reason for acting like I have."

Melanie doesn't say anything, simply hums in response. Like she can possibly understand his conflict.

When she holds his hand again, Terry doesn't break it.

* * *

Ten moves swiftly across the monorail, easily taking the Joker gang's victims into her arms before pulling them out of harm's way. The minor gang is then made short work of. She's definitely been training, probably more than she ever did with her family as criminals.

Batman watches from the nearest ledge, poised to swoop in as needed. But he isn't needed.

He stays invisible to all eyes but one.

 _"Look, I'm not prying into the situation with you and Dana,"_ Oracle's voice statically says over the comm, _"because I'm a mutual friend. And I get that you needed a break."_

"It's not a break," he says firmly, watching Ten's finesse and refusing pointedly to be impressed. He'll have to ask Dick to teach him more aerial kicks. "She's not a part of this world. She never _should_ be. And it was relieving to have her know for a while, but the stuff with her brother… with Bruce… I had to think about how much I was changing. And I wasn't about to force her to change with me. I'm a different person, Oracle."

She sighs. _"Believe me, I know. I know."_ She takes a breath and seems to do something for a moment while Batman uses the lens of the cowl to magnify Ten's image.

 _"Does all this talk about change have something to do with your current stalking?"_ she finally asks.

"I don't know," he admits heavily. "It's possible."

 _"Be careful, Terry,"_ Oracle cautions. _"People change. But people also hold grudges. And people also don't just need to both be 'in two worlds' to make things work. It's more than that. Are you sure you're going to put yourself out there to try?"_

"Guess that's ultimately up to me," Batman says as Ten leaves the area, police sirens in the distance. He takes off, too.

* * *

It's been over three weeks since they made nice again, and Terry has never been unconfident on a date before in his _life._ So he's not entirely sure what's causing the butterflies when he and Melanie go out to the movies.

He's concerned at first that she would like to go to a club afterward - it's how they met, after all - and he's not been clubbing since he broke up with Dana. He's not really sure he has the taste for them anymore, or if he ever really did past the high school phase.

But Melanie… Melanie's quiet. She wants to meet at their first spot, in the park, instead. And they walk with her on his arm. And Terry likes this.

Still, something has to be said to break the silence. It just so happens that Melanie does it for him.

"Terry… you know all that jazz about how relationships need to have no secrets?" she says, pulling them both to a stop. It's a secluded area of the park.

Terry thinks, maybe, he's not quite ready to hear Melanie's confessions here. Not this early. Not when there's no way he can confess his own.

"I've heard it a few times," he says, as if he hadn't slowly dismantled his longest and dearest relationship by going against that golden rule of love. "I don't put much stock into it."

She studies his face for a moment, squeezes his hand. "Yeah. I'm… I'm thinking I don't either." Melanie frowns and uses her free hand tuck back a strand of hair. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I want to share a lot with you. But it's…"

"Scary," Terry finishes. "Yeah… me, too, actually."

With a soft laugh, she smirks and cocks her head at him. "I don't think you've got that many big secrets, McGinnis."

He gives her a bitter smile in return. "It's a pretty big one."

"Do you want to share?" she asks softly. "Get a load off your chest?"

Closing his eyes and releasing a cool breath, Terry huffs a short laugh. "No. Not really."

"Yeah, same," she continues. "Some secrets… you've got to tell them over time. Right?"

"Eventually," Terry adds. "But… Mel, it's not really a secret that I love you."

She blinks, caught a little off guard. She laughs, blushing high in her cheeks and across her nose. "You read my note?" she asks.

"I don't have to," he responds.

* * *

She's pulling herself out of the rubble of the building. Everyone will survive, and it's in part thanks to her. In part thanks to him.

They didn't say a word as they got everyone out. But now, as he throws the support beam out of her way, they look at each other for the first time. Probably the first time since he last went against her family.

Batman holds out his hand to Ten.

She lets him pull her the rest of the way to her feet.

"Everyone's safe?" she asks as she examines the damage to her costume. It's a cheaper model than the one she had when her family was full of high rollers. It could use some kevlar plating. Some technical advances.

He wonders when it would be alright to offer.

"Yes. You're really proving yourself out here," he says. Watches as she looks at him curiously. "Not that you need to prove yourself to anyone."

"Can I rely on you as a reference for the police?" she remarks flippantly.

"They're not my biggest fans either," he returns. "I can see what I can do, though. And it might help if you change your name and colors. Just a bit."

"What, pretend I'm a different person?" she asks.

"No," he says. "Because you already _are."_

"You sound like my boyfriend," she says with a huff, looks over the debris. "Hope he doesn't mind I'm running late."

Batman smirks and turns to leave. "Something tells me he might understand."


End file.
